More stupidity and propaganda: Guess where

Reading the Amarillo Globe-News these days would be entertaining were it not the “newspaper of

record” for Amarillo. And, in this case, I use the word “newspaper” very loosely. But it isn’t the Globe-News alone that provides the entertainment. It’s also some of those who come before the City Council to comment.

One of those becoming a regular is one Cindi Bulla, a Realtor, who regularly spouts the Wallace Bajjali-Downtown Amarillo Inc.-Amarillo Globe-News approach to downtown development. She has shown she will not be moved by facts. Let’s start with a Sept.8 story that Kevin Welch penned about the tax talks at the City Council Tuesday.

By the way, it’s instructive of the Globe-News’ approach to the news that the story refers to Bulla as a “resident.” That, of course, misdirects the reader away from Bulla’s portfolio or political reach as a Realtor active with the local realtor association. But that isn’t the worst of it. Bulla then goes on to tell the council, according to the article, “Work together and get the job done and get it done right.”

Like many others still enmeshed with the fraudsters Wallace Bajjali, Bulla overlooks the electorate’s mandate to shake things up at City Hall. Further, working together was the go-along-to-get-along approach was precisely that brought us eight years of wheel-spinning, word spinning. The indiscriminate acceptance of plans from Wallace Bajjali, DAI, the Local Government Corp. and Amarillo Economic Development Corp. have gotten us to a likely corrupt downtown development plan.

This isn’t the first time Bulla’s Babbittry has joined voices with the other smug, self-satisfied Babbitts of Amarillo. She indicated during a July 1 community meeting that the voters of Amarillo aren’t smart enough to assess public policy decisions, much less vote on them.

It gets better, of course. It’s not just the entertainment in the Globe-News. It’s the unmitigated gall and hubris from the paper whose publisher, Les Simpson, is so enmeshed in the downtown development debacle so completely as to destroy any credibility for his media outlet. Don’t forget, it was Simpson, as head of DAI’s board along with Melissa Dailey, brought Wallace Bajjali to Amarillo.

So when we’re greeted Thursday morning with an editorialthat purports to tell us that cutting the DAI budget is about taxes instead of a message to DAI and the community about what DAI is worth to us, I can only conclude two things. Either the Globe-News is once again engaging in a propaganda and disinformation campaign to attack those who would follow the electorate’s wishes; or, that whoever conceived of and wrote the editorial is — how can I say this nicely? (I can’t) — is flat out stupid and thinks we are too.

I will continue to wish better for Amarillo than this. And until then, I feel an obligation to help people understand how badly misled we have been by what was once a real newspaper. And how we’re being misled by a bunch of Babbitt-line insiders whose interest is their own, notthe good of the city. Thank goodness we had an election and that it turned out the way it did.

Final thought: Councilors Burkett, Demerson and Nair, gentlemen, stay the course.

Amarillo's media schizophrenia

The Republican debate and Donald Trump have dominated so much of the news over the past few days that Amarilloans may have been sidetracked from the escalation in the schizophrenic propaganda war about Amarillo’s downtown development. Or lack thereof ager eight years of wheel-spinning, word-spinning, elections and massive tax money spending.

A war of words is now unfolding on social media, especially Facebook, a shift away from the Amarillo Globe-News website since the AGN disabled comments a couple of weeks ago. In disabling public dialogue, the out-of-town-owned media outlet has also made more evident than ever that it’s not a news outlet any more. Of course, those of us who consider ourselves real journalists stopped calling the AGN a newspaper a long time ago.

Now what AGN readers are getting is pure propaganda — and worse. Like a snake, the AGN has turned on those it previously supported. The recent obvious hatchet jobs (hereand here) on newly elected City Councilor Randy Burkett are examples of a media outlet that can no longer be trusted. It is also one afflicted with political schizophrenia. Burkett was one of the challengers during the most recent campaign in which those challengers made clear they wanted to make drastic changes at City Hall. The AGN supported him, as it did successful challengers Elisha Demerson and Mark Nair. Also noteworthy was the AGN’s lack of endorsement for the incumbent mayor, Paul Harpole.

The Amarillo Globe-News is under no legal obligation to explain its positions, changes of position, editorial policy or matters of news judgment. And one can argue, in fact, no moral or journalism ethical rubric would require it to do so. I suspect that articulating a rational, non-schizoid explanation without their, or our, heads exploding would be impossible. Let’s face it, the local chief executive was the chairman of the Downtown Amarillo Inc. board and, along with the DAI executive director, brought us Wallace Bajjali.

Of course, there’s a real tragedy here. A look at United States history makes clear that the strength of our republic rested on a vibrant free press and an educated electorate. Since the 1950s, radio and television have supplemented and complemented the print outlets. But electronic media can only do so much. In Amarillo, only ABC 7 News/KVII is doing accountability journalism.

And while the age of Internet and the World Wide Web has certainly impacted the news landscape, communities relied on their “newspaper(s) of record” to provide the basis for civic discourse and publishing information adhering to solid journalistic standards that demanded balance, fairness and accuracy on news pages.

Amarillo has lost that and now social media has become the forum here.

What a shame.

Hell has frozen over: Ballpark Vote — a change in position

Earlier today (Friday), I postedthat KAMR’s storyexposed another sneaky move buried in the Local Government Corp.-City Council-Downtown Amarillo Inc. contract for the downtown parking garage. The promoters of the Wallace Bajjali-DAI plan have placed a requirement that downtown Amarillo be “blessed” with parking meters in addition to the multi-million parking structure.

The purpose is pretty clear: People are either going to pay for parking downtown on the street or in the garage, come Hell or high water (of which we have plenty lately).

Let’s put aside the pro and con arguments of the garage and parking meters. Instead, let’s look at some underlying points:

First, this revelation is one of a long, well-documented list spin, misrepresentations and outright lies propagated by DAI, the Local Government Corp. and others in the Wallace Bajjali camp of downtown development — including the Amarillo Globe-News and (mainly) the former City Council. It is, as I wrote, the “the proverbial ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’” in this almost decade-long push to shape downtown in the visions of:

• A fraudster master developer in the form of Wallace Bajjali;
• A third- or even fourth-rate planner heading DAI;
• Boards of DAI, the LGC and Amarillo Economic Development Corp. that show no analytical thinking skills, approving without question anything the bureaucrats want;
• The 10^th-rate publisher of the Amarillo Globe-News, a daily outlet for which the only love for this city is for the amount of money it can suck out of the economy by pandering to those here who can write the big checks;
• And, prior City Commissions/Councils so clueless and bereft of critical thinking skills that they have led the AEDC and others into an FBI and grand jury investigation.

How do we put a stop to all this?

The three new councilors ran on a platform calling for placing the proposed ballpark on a ballot so voters would have a say about downtown development. I supported all three of the new councilors as candidates on the basis of that position and their calls for transparency in city government. And, normally I would push for elected officials to adhere to their campaign promises. But in this case, I am changing my view.

So, in relation to this, why might Hell have frozen over? Because I agree with a July 18 editorialfrom the city’s propaganda-in-chief Globe-News that called on the City Council to take an open vote on going forward with the ballpark.

There are several reason why I am releasing the new councilors from their campaign pledge.

First, although I believe a decent turnout for citywide vote on the issue will defeat the ballpark, thereby opening the door to rebooting the entire downtown development effort, I want to eliminate the risk of the ballpark winning. The main ways I would consider supporting a public vote is if the City Council invoked its investigative powers under the City Code before the election and let the public judge if it wants to proceed after having all the facts exposed from people under oath. Or, if the council froze all money to DAI and others as to limit their propagandizing.

Second, I am concerned that an additional four months of fighting over this will permit the Wallace Bajjali political descendants here to use their vast wealth to buy the election. They have far more resources than us rational folks and there is a strong possibility we’re at risk of them funneling public money through the city and DAI to sway the election.

Third, the Globe-News has a vested interest and lacks the journalistic ethics to give people here the straight story. The motives and power to purposefully misinform are strong. Finally, in the category of “be careful what you wish for,” I believe the people whom the Globe-News, Wallace Bajjali allies, previous commissioners and councilors have ignored, abused and demeaned need to teach those abusers a public lesson.

In short, “the little people” need to invoke that famous quote from “Network,” the Academy Award-winning movie: “I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!”

Globe-News to Amarillo: Shut Up!

Short and sweet: On the heels of the Amarillo Globe-News’ decision to cut off comments, as is its right of course, the out-of-town owned propaganda organ has decided Amarilloans are too stupid to make decisions about the future of their town. The headline on the editorialon Wednesday says it all.

“Editorial: Parts of downtown development cannot be debated.”

Oh, yes it can. And thanks to ABC 7 News/KVII, the members of the public who could not attend the Tea Party-sponsored presentation but had internet could watch a live stream of the event. This was the event that had UTSA Prof. Heyward Sanders joined the other rational voices in deconstructing the Wallace Bajjali-Downtown Amarillo Inc.-Amarillo Globe-News plan for downtown development.

As part of incredible public service to this community, ABC 7 News/KVII hosted a town hall last week, moderated by prominent journalist Mark Hyman. The public service in The Panhandle Spirit continues with the posting of that meeting here.

Meanwhile, here’s a message to the Globe-News quoting Archie Bunker, “Stifle yourself.”

Lessons from the sessions

Advance Amarillo is on Facebook crowing about the great turn out and support for the Wallace Bajjali-Downtown Amarillo Inc. plan for downtown development.

“A big thank you to everyone who voiced their support for the plans to revitalize downtown today, it was a good day!” reads the post. And one of the supporters, a Sally Jennings, responded, “Today was a great day for the citizens of Amarillo!! Those that want to create and do something good and make this a great city spoke up and were heard. 99% positive comments!!!!”

Here are some major takeaways about the Wednesday session.

• While the turnout was good at the start, let’s remember that the purpose of the all-day dog-and-pony show was to sell and/or pressure the new councilors to buy into the Wallace Bajjali-DAI plan. By the way, one of the speakers said the ballpark wasn’t a Wallace Bajjali idea, but that was one of the many pieces of disinformation. The so-called three-legged stool is the cookie cutter approach Wallace Bajjali peddled elsewhere.

• The daylong meeting was designed to bring out the supporters who had pecuniary interests in the plan and to exclude those who would have spoken against the ballpark in particular. Amarillo’s working stiffs had zero chance of sitting through this disinformation campaign.

• After almost 8 hours of the advocates representing Center City, the Local Government Corp., Downtown Amarillo Inc. and Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone as well as the city itself with the mayor touting elements of the plan, the public comment session began 2¾ hours after the originally scheduled 3 p.m. start time for public comment. This was a transparent ploy to wear down the outnumbered opponents of the Wallace Bajjali-DAI plan.

• It became clear that the public comments portion of the day was also a setup when participants learned about the City Council’s sacred three-minute time limit, wired to favor the advocates of the Wallace Bajjali-DAI plan. The setup included “youth” with clearly scripted speeches that conveniently fit the time limit. When was the last time you heard a high school or college kid refer to “catalyst project?”

• And, speaking of three-minute time limit, it was impossible for anyone sitting through the 8 hours of presentations from the advocates talking without time limits to come up with an equally balanced critique of the disinformation.

• While one of the key pitches to the public, and made by several at the meeting and after as presented on ABC 7 News Nightside, the purpose of the meeting was transparency. But when some key questions came up, there was not transparency. Case in point: Who are the investors in the convention hotel? NewcrestImage’s Chuck Patel said it was no one’s business. But newly elected Councilor Randy Burkett got a confirmation that Joe Bob McCartt, former Debra McCartt’s husband, and Alan Rhodes, of the Underwood Law Firm, were two of the 30 investors in the hotel. And McCartt and Rhodes are also involved in the Commerce Building scandal that has triggered an FBI and grand jury probe.

The new City Council members — Mark Nair and Elisha Demerson — have joined Burkett in the first shake up at City Hall. They called for and got Assistance City Manager Vicki Covey’s resignation on Tuesday and succeeded in getting City Manager Jarrett Atkinson’s job status on the agenda for next week’s council meeting. They also called for the resignation of the entire AEDC board. I can’t imagine that the DAI and LGC boards are far behind.

But ultimately, the meeting, while cordial, generated more heat than light. We still lack in-depth and, perhaps, honest answers about:

• Why the city didn’t move to rebuild the Civic Center first.

• Why it focused Wednesday so much on “millennials” while throughout the process until now we’ve not heard about those folks.

• How the “millennials” would drive conventions and hotel usage and how that relates to the ballpark.

• Why the budgets after eight long years of planning are so tentative.

• Why the city is stonewalling the Herring Hotel and who is behind this attempt to put this kind of squeeze on the owner.

• Who the other local investors in the hotel are and what ties they have to public money and local decision- and policy-making.

• Who the organizers of Advance Amarillo are and the interests those people have in property downtown.

• How DAI’s Melissa Dailey came up with Wallace Bajjali and has contributed to some of the enmity toward her, going back to the 2007-2008 years with her treatment of people objecting to the design standards.

• How Dailey has also misled (some have told me she lied) about some of the plans.

The City Council, it turns out, has the power under Section 19 of Amarillo’s Municipal Code, to “investigate the financial transaction of any office or department of the City government, and the acts and conduct of any officer or employee. In conducting such investigation, the Council may compel the attendance or witnesses, the production of books and papers, and other evidence, and for that purpose may issue subpoenas or attachments which shall be signed by the Mayor; which may be served and executed by any officer authorized by law to serve subpoenas or other process, or any peace officer of the City.”

In the 12 years I’ve lived here, I don’t remember anyone using this provision. But, if that is what it takes to get answers to the questions that may make the citizens and taxpayers of Amarillo more trusting, then I hope the new council will do so.

More Political Pornography

When the Local Government Corp. announced recently that it would join with the City Council, AmarilloGlobe-News and on at least two Facebook pages (here and here), that this meeting is another ploy at propaganda to shove the Wallace Bajjali-Downtown Amarillo Inc. plan down our throats.

Downtown Amarillo Inc., Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone and others in a community meeting on July 1, TIRZ Chairman Richard Brown and others represented the meeting as one seeking input and discussion. It turns out now as a story unfolds in the

While the first clue that the meeting Wednesday wasn’t really for community input came from reports about Mayor Paul Harpole’s “Town Hall” meetings, at which he has been reported to reject an election on the Wallace Bajjali-DAI stadium, clear confirmation arrived Sunday with the story referenced above.

Why scrutinize the Amarillo downtown plan and ballpark?

John Kanelis is my friend, a fellow journalist and blogger and a gentle soul. His posts at High Plains Blogger reflect his kindness and decency. But on one issue, he and I disagree strongly and have for years.

That issue is Amarillo’s downtown redevelopment and the plan that Paul Harpole and the former City Council, aided and abetted by Downtown Amarillo Inc., the Amarillo Economic Development Corp., the Local Government Corp. and the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, have ramrodded since at least 2008.

The three-legged stool (the metaphor of stool is purposely chosen) consisted of a “convention hotel,” a parking garage and a so-called multi-purpose event venue. John focuses on the MPEV, questioning why this ballpark is getting so much attention and repeating, sadly, the City Council “party-line” that (and here is how John said it), “No tax money will be spent on these projects.”

I had a similar debate on Facebook with Walter Riggs, a veteran banker in Amarillo. Like John, he supports the current plan. The exchange with Walter was civil and courteous and in the end, we agreed to disagree. I am sure John and I will also. Nevertheless, here are some of the key points I made to Walter and offer for my reader’s and John’s consideration.

·In 2008, the then- City Commission still had political capital to overcome its sneaky trick of subsidizing the Globe-News Center shortfall, which was $1.8 million, not the “million or so dollars” John cited. The city could have, according to my sources, gotten a bond passed for redoing the Civic Center.

·Alan Abraham, a reluctant candidate who fell to long-time councilor Brian Eades in the recent city election, a while back showed the City Commission/City Council a university-based study that the cookie-cutter approach pushed by DAI and failed master developer Wallace Bajjali that packaged the ballpark, a garage and “convention center” hotel was doomed in a community of this size. I also posited that downtown could be revived using the Herring Hotel as the touchstone and capitalizing on Amarillo railroad and Western history. I still believe that would have been a viable approach.

·It was The Amarillo Independent that vetted Wallace Bajjali better than DAI, the Amarillo Globe-News and the city of Amarillo’s hired attorneys. I suspect those in power didn’t want to listen to the Indy because I was one of those horrible “liberals.” But my politics have nothing to do with it. Nor do I consider being right about this a matter of luck. I believe we uncovered information through hard work, due diligence and good judgment.

John asked why the scrutiny on the ballpark. He notes, “I also am willing to trust that it can be done the way its proponents say it will be done: through lodging revenue collected at our hotels and motels.”

And perhaps that is the difference between a nice guy like John and someone who has watched politics in Louisiana, New Jersey, Colorado, New Mexico and, now, Amarillo. I am not willing to trust the city’s current administration or the prior City Council. Those experiences have informed my cynical view. Further, the way the city has treated the Herring Hotel reinforced my view that something is going on in Amarillo that doesn’t pass the “smell test” and ultimately, with the FBI and Grand Jury looking at the AEDC, may not pass the legal test.

And, that is why we need to watch the City Council and the rest of the downtown planning closely, and especially the ballpark.

Why scrutinize the Amarillo downtown plan and ballpark?

John Kanelis is my friend, a fellow journalist and blogger and a gentle soul. His posts at High Plains Blogger reflect his kindness and decency. But on one issue, he and I disagree strongly and have for years.

That issue is Amarillo’s downtown redevelopment and the plan that Paul Harpole and the former City Council, aided and abetted by Downtown Amarillo Inc., the Amarillo Economic Development Corp., the Local Government Corp. and the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, have ramrodded since at least 2008.

The winds of change blew into city Hall Saturday

The Amarillo City Council got a strong message Saturday. The voters have said, “We don’t like what you’re doing and we don’t like the way you’re doing it.”

Here’s where we stand with the unofficial final numbers posted at 9:18 p.m. (here)

Mayor — Paul Harpole retains his seat with 54 percent of 14,016 votes cast. That certainly is a less resounding victory than two years ago. The 8 percentage point spread isn’t that big in the context of the 2013 race and the other results down ballot. It should be clear that Harpole no longer can claim a mandate, as he has with such hubris. Don’t overlook that Harpole had tons of money and challenger Roy McDowell didn’t. McDowell is not a smooth operator like Harpole.

Place 1 — Incumbent Ellen Robertson Green falls to Elisha Demerson with 44 percent of the 14,148 votes in this nasty and hotly contested race. Voters going down ballot are clear they want a different councilor in this slot. How much the nastiness in Green’s campaign backfired isn’t clear; nor, is it clear whether Green’s record and the way she touted defeated her. Demerson ran on transparency and took the high road.

Place 2 — Incumbent Brian Eades’ victory over Alan Abraham is no surprise. Abraham, who ran more out of conscience and a desire to foment discussion than a fire to win, didn’t mount an aggressive campaign. Even at that, he got more than one-third of the votes (35 percent of 13,942 cast), which I attribute to anti-incumbent backlash. Eades garnered much support from the Amarillo medical community and for his role in the animal control debacle. He was also the only councilor who finally admitted some culpability in the city’s lack of leadership. Will we see an Eades-Harpole contest in 2017? If Eades decides to run for mayor in two years, he will be formidable.

Place 3 — Randy Burkett bested the five-contender field with 55 percent of the 13,956 votes, defeating incumbent Lilia Escajeda. Escajeda’s lackluster get-along-by-going-along record for downtown development and other issues coupled with Burkett’s more aggressive style sealed her fate, despite an eleventh-hour hatchet job by the Amarillo Globe-News.

Place 4 — Jim Simms’ seat, as it will likely be known for some time, heads for a run-off between Mark Nair and Steve Rogers. Nair’s 45 percent to Rogers’ 25 percent of 13,848 votes wasn’t enough to elect him outright. The three other contestants divvied up the rest of the votes. Undoubtedly, the upcoming contest in June will see many reminders that Rogers is the appraiser in the questionable Commerce Building deal and is also, if my sources are correct, Harpole’s hand-picked choice. If Nair can overcome the establishment, Harpole’s money and be aggressive, he can win this election.

There are some important lessons:

·Those who say there is no hope for change in Amarillo and voting doesn’t matter are wrong. The results are nothing short of stunning, especially if Nair prevails in the run-off. That gives the five-member council three anti-incumbent seats, leaving only Harpole and Eades to defend the council’s past actions.

·The City Council and mayor will need to back off on the headlong cockamamie downtown plans and the stupidity of the ballpark. It opens the door for a reboot of downtown planning and a re-evaluation of the roles of Downtown Amarillo Inc., the Local Government Corp. and the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. Whether some folks’ résumés over at city Hall need updating remains to be seen.

·Paul “Mr. Hubris” Harpole might consider this a lesson in etiquette and courtesy. Let’s see if it’s a teachable moment.

Of course, it ain’t over till it’s over. Stay tuned.

The winds of change blew into city Hall Saturday

The Amarillo City Council got a strong message Saturday. The voters have said, “We don’t like what you’re doing and we don’t like the way you’re doing it.”

Here’s where we stand with the unofficial final numbers posted at 9:18 p.m. (here)

Mayor — Paul Harpole retains his seat with 54 percent of 14,016 votes cast. That certainly is a less resounding victory than two years ago. The 8 percentage point spread isn’t that big in the context of the 2013 race and the other results down ballot. It should be clear that Harpole no longer can claim a mandate, as he has with such hubris. Don’t overlook that Harpole had tons of money and challenger Roy McDowell didn’t. McDowell is not a smooth operator like Harpole.

Election issues continue to roil

Jay Groom, a Facebook friend and real life acquaintance posted the following last night: “Very ashamed of the (so-called nsp) in our fine city. The editor (Les) has gone out of his way to increase readership and therefore revenue at the expense of putting a lot of well-meaning public servants in a negative light.

Are these public servants without fault? Am I without fault? Les, are you without fault? No. I have yet to hear thoughtful solutions for some of our city's problems from the nsp or many of the candidates looking to replace the present city council. So many of the negative views of the current mayor and city council have come from a relatively few anonymous posters in the nsp and a couple of mayor wannabees that for whatever reason, chose not to run. Rant is over. I throw it to George Schwarz for a thoughtful rebuttal.”

I obliged.

Jay Groom, thanks for the toss and I’ll rise to the occasion — mainly because I can’t keep my damn mouth shut!

When I came to Amarillo in June 2003, I did so with high hopes of being on the staff of a medium-sized daily paper that was important to the community and provided high-quality journalism as the descendent of a Pulitzer-winning newspaper. When I interviewed for the job, I made it clear that along with being the health and medicine reporter (having a M.A. in hospital and health administration), I am also an investigative reporter. I joined Investigative Reporters and Editors in 1995, during my career change, and have never let the membership lapse. That’s my commitment to investigative reporting.

In the interim of the job offer and arrival, Les Simpson had fired Cathy Martindale as executive editor. I didn’t see that as a harbinger of the paper’s (I refuse to call the Amarillo Globe-News a newspaper) deterioration. But, for as long as I was there, I saw stories killed and scared cows protected. How ironic given Gene Howe’s quote above the door. Then there was the Franklin Covey program that Les and Morris Communications inflicted on the newsroom in which they declared there were no sacred cows. Most of the reporters there laughed at that one. By the way, I can give you all several specific examples of spiked or slanted stories, but not at the moment.

Fast-forward to 2008, with the two-year-old Amarillo Independent covering the City Council (I am using Commission and Council interchangeably, although I know the difference), when the current push for downtown planning reared its head. The Indy pointed out a lot of the problems with the plan, including the failure to focus on the Civic Center first. Despite the City Council’s duplicity with the Globe-News Center, enough political capital remained that the voters would have approved a bond issue for a big Civic Center project. The hotel and other projects, whatever they would be and whatever direction they took would have followed.

During that time, Richard Brown touted the establishment of Downtown Amarillo Inc. as the mechanism to bring the real estate and development expertise to the city, with it being a nonprofit not subject to the Texas sunshine laws. A lot of people objected to that; and many other people — including Alan Abraham (but not Brian Eades) — also objected to Les being placed on DAI’s and the Local Government Corp.’s boards. I remember objecting before the council and in editorials, arguing that if one media outlet was on those boards, all should be. Of course, it was clear why the council pulled that stunt — co-option of the worse kind.

I have said openly and will repeat it here. Les could have done the right thing as an ethical journalist and declined those posts. But, he didn’t. As far as I’m concerned, he forfeited any right to be called a journalist. Whatever his motivation, by repudiating core journalistic ethics, by being part of the process instead of being a watchdog of it, he made the Globe-News and himself bigger lapdogs than they already were. Even worse, he was part of the group that brought Melissa Dailey to DAI and she was the one who, with Les, brought Wallace Bajjali to the table. The Indy did its part with watchdog journalism in November 2010, revealing WB’s shady record at a council work session, all the while Les sat stewing and Dailey claiming DAI had done its due diligence. The city’s retention of a Dallas law firm to “vet” Wallace Bajjali was a ploy to simply grease the skids. As Don Yee pointed out, in commenting about the NFL’s law firm’s “Deflategate” report, law firms can be counted on to come up with findings the client wants. Did the firms do so for the city?

The downtown planning process was gamed from the start and, although the Kabuki Dance tried to make it look like an open process and invited other ideas, the truth is once Dailey and Wallace Bajjali got involved, it was going to be WB’s cookie-cutter ballpark approach. But worse, despite the Indy kicking open the public records and meetings doors at DAI, most of the efforts continued behind closed doors. The city can look cooperative while stonewalling. It’s really quite charming, but it isn’t transparent. As the downtown debacle unfolded and other city problems came to the forefront, failed oversight and transparency became the issues of this campaign.

I don’t think it’s totally accurate to fault the challengers for not having solutions. Many of them have articulated that rebuilding the Civic Center should be the next step; and that the Herring Hotel should not be shut out of the plans. And a call to revamp city management, draconian it may be, is a solution. When the Indy covered this issue, we took editorial positions calling for the Civic Center as a priority, focusing in the city’s railroad, Western heritage and the magic of Route 66. Those ideas were spurned but I am still convinced that those are the elements of Amarillo that people are interested in; I still subscribe to the notion that the ballpark is a joke. Alan Abraham has a university study showing what a bad idea those ballparks are and he showed it to the councilors. The council has a knack for rejecting good information.

As for the Globe-News not offering solutions or alternatives, what do you expect with Les so invested in this debacle? He has gone pretty low profile, hasn’t he? But the Globe-News turning on the city and incumbents has Les’ fingerprints all over it. I don’t know the reason or reasons, although I have my theories.

As for “relatively few anonymous posters in the nsp,” I make two observations. First, the City Council, DAI, WB and the AGN have argued that there was citizen input accepting all the elements of the downtown plan, but in the context of our city, those were relatively few. So, are the posters on the AGN website a disproportionate few? Second, I’ve posted on the AGN site for years, but every time someone there figures out my screen name, they ban me. I outed myself as “opinionista” this past weekend in response to Melissa Dailey using her maiden name and posting propaganda and inaccurate information. I expect to be banned any day now.

I can’t speak for anyone else’s tone, style or criticism of the incumbents. I’ve been harsh but civil. And I stand by my positions. I didn’t grow up in Texas. I grew up in New Orleans and, as an adult, lived in eight states before getting here. I never liked the “get along by going along” approach to politics, public policy or management, although I don’t like the nastiness we’ve seen. But what I see has blunt and straightforward comments and opinions are seen by others as harsh or negative. I see that as a “get along by going along” ploy. I am 70-years-old. I am beyond the point of needing to care what others think of me as long as I retain my own integrity.

Thanks for inviting me to comment and for reading.

Election issues continue to roil

Jay Groom, a Facebook friend and real life acquaintance posted the following last night: “Very ashamed of the (so-called nsp) in our fine city. The editor (Les) has gone out of his way to increase readership and therefore revenue at the expense of putting a lot of well-meaning public servants in a negative light.

Are these public servants without fault? Am I without fault? Les, are you without fault? No. I have yet to hear thoughtful solutions for some of our city's problems from the nsp or many of the candidates looking to replace the present city council. So many of the negative views of the current mayor and city council have come from a relatively few anonymous posters in the nsp and a couple of mayor wannabees that for whatever reason, chose not to run. Rant is over. I throw it to George Schwarz for a thoughtful rebuttal.”

I obliged.

Look who crawled out from under the rocks on the AGN website

A poster signed @mwaelti posted the following on the Amarillo Globe-News website on this story. Here is what she wrote:

“MPEV

The cost to build the MPEV is known, and the funding sources identified. A market study has been completed, and there have been numerous conversations with the owner of the Thunderheads as well as the various baseball associations. The homework has been done. Now it's time to build it.”

I am pretty damn sure this is Downtown Amarillo Inc. Executive Director Melissa Dailey, so this is what I posted:

“Hey Melissa Dailey,

"The homework has been done" Just like the homework you did to give us Wally-ByGolly. You've mislead us on Liberty Theater -- folks reading this need to just ask Keith Jones about that. You've got Lutz out in front on the old Santa Fe Depot, in a case of too-little-or-nothing-too-late. I could go on.

If we know the cost of the ball park (MPEV is a friggin' joke and we all know it), why don't you post it here? And will the contract or whomever builds it contain a guarantee that the taxpayer will not pay a penny if the costs exceed your (or Jacobs Engineering's, or whoever's) guesses on the cost? As for the market study, if you're referring to the Sports and Leisure study a few years ago? People who have forgotten more about finances, statistics and market studies than you ever knew shot more holes in that thing than all the Swiss cheese ever made.

And, specifically, what are the funding sources? Tell us exactly.

And now, you're using your middle/maiden name in an attempt to hide who you are as a poster here. This is the lack of transparency that everyone is talking about. You run an organization that the Texas Attorney General ruled is subject to the state's sunshine laws. Live up to the spirit of the law.

It is clear that you, some of the councilors and others are running scared over this election. A decent voter turnout will doom you and your half-baked plans and you and others know it.

OK - that said, since I called you out by name, I am going to confirm who I am since some have suspected and others have known. I suspect it will get me banned from the AGN postings, but that will just define the AGN. It doesn't define me.

I am George Schwarz, semi-retired publisher of The Amarillo Independent; and, once again for the record, left the AGN on my own accord for reasons I have made clear elsewhere.”

Look who crawled out from under the rocks on the AGN website

A poster signed @mwaelti posted the following on the Amarillo Globe-News website on this story. Here is what she wrote:

“MPEV

The cost to build the MPEV is known, and the funding sources identified. A market study has been completed, and there have been numerous conversations with the owner of the Thunderheads as well as the various baseball associations. The homework has been done. Now it's time to build it.”

I am pretty damn sure this is Downtown Amarillo Inc. Executive Director Melissa Dailey, so this is what I posted:

Amarillo City Hall runs off the rails -- again

If you thought the stupidity out of Amarillo’s City Hall couldn’t get worse, think again. A story from

ABC 7 News reports that the city is considering making the $3 million Santa Fe Depot, which it bought with taxpayer money, into an “Intermodal Transportation Center.”

Normally I don’t quote a story this extensively, but I’ll make an exception in this case because you’ll have to read the verbiage to see how pathetic this is. The idea seems to have come from Downtown Amarillo Inc., which quoted DAI’s board chairman John Lutz, “We could take all of our transportation assets such as our busing — both private and public, our taxi system, and different things and put them all right here. This way they could be a better resource for the city at large.”

Yes, let’s do that, Mr. Lutz. All the assets, and “different things.” What different things? Like Amtrak? Oh, wait, the passenger train doesn’t stop here anymore. Does “all” include bringing the airport downtown?

Of course, that last little dig is mine, mainly to show how silly, ill-informed and scared the downtown development cabal is running. And if you want some more vague generalizations, check out the quote from Amarillo’s city manager.

“You're going to have the opportunity for many things,” said Jarrett Atkinson, City Manager. “You can take advantage of the space, take advantage of those historic buildings and keep moving forward.”

“Many things.”

“Keep moving forward.”

The city and DAI are grasping at straws, trying to generate some semblance of progress on downtown development. A few weeks ago, it was the Liberty Theater, with misleading information, if not lies, about how that icon of civil rights in Amarillo will be preserved. Now this.

You see, while the city, DAI, the Amarillo Economic Development Corp., the Local Government Corp. and the City Council were financially fornicating with Wallace Bajjali, and getting screwed in without even a kiss, the city sat on its butt doing nothing to get the Southwest Chief rerouted. Or, to explore other options that might have revived rail service for Amarillo. Can’t be done, you say? Look at other states: Illinois, the New England state; ones along the route of the Crescent up the East Coast.

Thanks for ABC 7 News for exposing another problem with a City Council that is at the heart of a mismanaged city.

Amarillo City Hall runs off the rails -- again

If you thought the stupidity out of Amarillo’s City Hall couldn’t get worse, think again. A story from

ABC 7 News reports that the city is considering making the $3 million Santa Fe Depot, which it bought with taxpayer money, into an “Intermodal Transportation Center.”

Let's ask council incumbents some questions

I have already voted in the City Council, Amarillo College and Amarillo ISD races. As a result, I see

no need to attend the campaign ploy that Paul Harpole is running under the guise of being a mayor’s “town hall meeting.” That meeting was announced using city of Amarillo resources, by the way. The notice came from the city’s community relations coordinator and is posted to the city’s website (http://www.amarillo.gov/?p=6880).

If anyone goes, or knows of anyone going, please feel free to circulate these to pose to Harpole. In fact, if anyone encounters a city incumbent anywhere, perhaps these would be good questions to ask.

Why did the council ignore The Amarillo Independent’s findings about Wallace Bajjali? If The Amarillo Independent wasn’t good enough, why go to a law firm to investigate? Why not do your own due diligence?

Why did Alan Taylor retire? Was there any truth to the rumor that he disagreed with the downtown plan?

The Strategic Action Plan effort had fewer than 1,000 participants. Why did the City Council consider that representative of the city?

Why was the Herring not included in the land use planning? Why has the City Council ignored the Herring Hotel as a resource for conventions? Who is behind the squeeze play on the Herring?

What happened to the “citizen vote” that was promised? With such a pathetic voter turnout in 2013, how can you justify that this was a mandate or endorsement of the ongoing plans?

If the new hotel is such a strong asset, why does it need to be protected by a non-compete clause? Or revenue guarantees?

How does city ownership of the hotel square with this community’s prevailing Libertarian or Republican ideals of a free market, a market where government doesn’t pick winners and losers?

How is it that the City Council ignored university studies that showed the very cookie-cutter plans that Wallace Bajjali brought to you don’t result in economic development?

How can the city contract with the Southern Independent League without a city-owned stadium to play in?

Why does the City Council and city management stonewall public records requests?

Why does the City Council protect the Amarillo Economic Development Corp.’s and Downtown Amarillo Inc.’s incompetence?

Let's ask council incumbents some questions

I have already voted in the City Council, Amarillo College and Amarillo ISD races. As a result, I see

no need to attend the campaign ploy that Paul Harpole is running under the guise of being a mayor’s “town hall meeting.” That meeting was announced using city of Amarillo resources, by the way. The notice came from the city’s community relations coordinator and is posted to the city’s website (http://www.amarillo.gov/?p=6880).

If anyone goes, or knows of anyone going, please feel free to circulate these to pose to Harpole. In fact, if anyone encounters a city incumbent anywhere, perhaps these would be good questions to ask.

Cynicism is justified

I have been looking around the Amarillo Municipal Code. I was trying to figure out if the City Council had a choice in scheduling the city election on May 9 on Mother’s Day Weekend. This arose because of a lot of local buzz that the council had set the election for Mother's Day Weekend to suppress turnout. The idea here is that a low turnout favors the status quo. It is a testament to how cynically a lot of people in Amarillo view their elected officials for the issue to arise this way.

I wanted to see for myself and found part of the code, but it isn’t helpful: “The regular municipal elections of the City of Amarillo shall be held on the date allowed by state law that occurs on or nearest to May 1 in each odd numbered year. If state law provides two election dates which are equally near May 1, the Council shall select one.”

I asked my Facebook friends if someone could point me to the state law that ties in with the city code on this. My friend, Bill McHugh, found the citation in the state election code that has settled the issue: the choice of date was unavoidable. The codestates that elections occur on “the second Saturday in May in an odd-numbered year … .” I don’t know why we need the ordinance in the Municipal Code when the state law is so specific, but there it is.

But I also found something else interesting. The Amarillo City Council has the power to conduct investigations and has subpoena power, the power to compel and power to charge those resisting providing information with contempt. Clickhere to see this part of the ordinance, but I call it to your attention because it provides a basis for one of the first things the new council should undertake.

What is that, you may ask?

It’s to launch two investigations of entities which operate on behalf of the city, the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. and Downtown Amarillo Inc. You might want to argue that these are not “any office or department of the City government,” but don’t forget The Amarillo Independent won a ruling from the Texas Attorney General that would apply here. The ruling the Indy won some years ago forced DAI to behave like a government entity, making it fully subject to the Open Meetings and Public Records acts. The basis was that DAI was funded by the government to carry out a governmental function. The same logic would apply to the AEDC.

Such an investigation might be the only way to learn what has really gone on behind the closed doors at these two entities. The public’s right to know that is long overdue. Given the track record of the City Council, Amarillo Economic Development Corp. and Downtown Amarillo Inc., wanting this investigation is not cynical.

Cynicism is justified

I have been looking around the Amarillo Municipal Code. I was trying to figure out if the City Council had a choice in scheduling the city election on May 9 on Mother’s Day Weekend. This arose because of a lot of local buzz that the council had set the election for Mother's Day Weekend to suppress turnout. The idea here is that a low turnout favors the status quo. It is a testament to how cynically a lot of people in Amarillo view their elected officials for the issue to arise this way.

I wanted to see for myself and found part of the code, but it isn’t helpful: “The regular municipal elections of the City of Amarillo shall be held on the date allowed by state law that occurs on or nearest to May 1 in each odd numbered year. If state law provides two election dates which are equally near May 1, the Council shall select one.”

I asked my Facebook friends if someone could point me to the state law that ties in with the city code on this. My friend, Bill McHugh, found the citation in the state election code that has settled the issue: the choice of date was unavoidable. The codestates that elections occur on “the second Saturday in May in an odd-numbered year … .” I don’t know why we need the ordinance in the Municipal Code when the state law is so specific, but there it is.